About Us | Boost Up English

My Story

Understanding How to Speak Clearly

Background

In 2014 I arrived in Colombia at the age of 31 basically knowing zero Spanish. I could barely even introduce myself. My funds were limited so I began studying on my own, picking up key words and phrases with the goal of being able to complete routine daily tasks as easily as possible and eventually sound like a native speaker.

It was an extremely inefficient process because I didn’t have professional guidance, and I didn´t know which direction to head in, what to focus on, or how to connect the dots. Eventually after a few years of being on the ground I started to pick up the basics, and was able to have small conversations. I thought I was doing fantastic, but there was still a HUGE MISSING PIECE.

I didn’t realize that I was making it extremely difficult for my listeners (Native Spanish Speakers) to understand me. Not only was I producing the sounds using the characteristics of American English. I was completely ignoring the rhythm patterns, which meant people often couldn´t understand the key words I was saying. There were even times my bad pronunciation sounded like a completely different word. I was never able to connected the dots, and wasn’t able to hear the difference between myself and a native speaker. Thankfully after a long time of struggling to be understood, a close friend of mine who is also from the US told me frankly that my pronunciation was very bad. He explained to me that it was uncomfortable and difficult for native speakers to listen to me speak.

My Passion

From that moment I started concentrating on the characteristics of the sounds of the language, and closely mimicking native speakers. After spending some time tuning my ear to the sound of Spanish combined with some guidance from a professional tutor, I now rarely run into a situation where a native speaker doesn´t clearly understand me. Even in the rare case that it happens I can immediately identify what adjustment I need to make for it to hit their ears in a natural way. So I’m living proof that even at a later age you can tune your ear to adjust the way you hear different sounds, and change the way you produce them. Having professional guidance will ensure you reach your goal in an efficient manner.

I´ve been working with non-native speakers for over 10 years. Helping them to hear the language like a native speaker, and find their own clear & natural American Pronunciation! My program focuses on the fundamental characteristics that create the American Sound, and develops students’ pronunciation skills from the ground up.